International Trade Minister David Emerson is announcing a spate of activity in his portfolio today. At a speech to mark International Trade Day, Emerson says that Canada:
- Has concluded free trade negotiations with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland
- Has opened free trade negotiations with Columbia, Peru, the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean community (CARICOM)
- Is exploring the idea of free trade agreements with South Korea and Singapore
- Is working on investment protection agreements with China and India. Exploratory talks in this area are underway with Vietnam and Indonesia.
In his speech, Emerson notes that his big push has been to diversify Canada’s export markets. He says exports last year to non-U.S. countries was up 14.6 per cent. In 2002, 87 per cent of Canada’s exports went to the U.S. Last year, that was down to 82 per cent.
Overall exports last year hit an all-time high of $524–billion.
Here’s an excerpt from the speech he was to give this afternoon:
Today, I can announce that we are launching free trade negotiations with Colombia and Peru, and with the Dominican Republic. I've instructed officials to begin talks over the next few weeks.
In addition, we intend to initiate free trade discussions with the Caribbean community (CARICOM) and hopefully conclude negotiations with the CA4.
But as we build a stronger and more competitive hemispheric platform, we're also reaching out to our traditional partners in Europe.
Today, I'm very happy to announce that Canada has concluded free trade negotiations with the members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA): Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
This is Canada's first FTA in six years, and our first FTA with European countries.
These are four sophisticated and wealthy economies in which technological innovation is a driving force. Taken together, they offer substantial market potential for Canada. Already, we have $11 billion in two-way trade and over $22 billion in two-way investment. In fact, the Swiss are the fifth-largest investor in Canada.
This agreement will create opportunities for Canadian businesses in a wide range of sectors, including building materials, forest products, auto parts and agriculture-all sectors in which Canada has demonstrated strengths.
Most importantly, this agreement is a major directional statement. It's a statement that Canada is back in the game. For the first time in six years, we have an agreement that begins to level the playing field for Canadian companies by giving them preferential access to a key market.
A lot of work went into reaching this agreement. Through the nine years of discussion and negotiation, we kept industry involved. The result is a deal that offers unprecedented flexibility.
On ships in particular, the agreement provides for a generous phase-out of our tariff over a 15-year period, with a grace period of three years before any cuts begin. This will give the industry a significant period of time to adjust to the new market conditions.
Our free trade agreement with EFTA also represents an important step towards trade and investment intensification with the broader EU market.
The European Union is Canada's second-largest trading partner, our second-largest source and destination of foreign investment, and our second-largest source of new technologies.
Enhancing our commercial relationship with the EU is something many of you have been advocating. I share this goal. And I think the study to examine the costs and benefits of closer economic integration, which was announced at the Canada-EU Summit earlier this week, offers a solid basis from which to start.
Responding to calls from the private sector in both markets to reduce red tape, Canada and the EU committed to concluding an agreement on regulatory cooperation as soon as possible.
We also endorsed the Regulatory Cooperation Roadmap, which sets out an ambitious list of results-oriented sectoral cooperation initiatives.
Also important is a comprehensive Canada-EU Air Services Agreement, which we will start negotiating this fall.We look forward to reviewing progress in these areas at next year's Canada-EU Summit.
Looking beyond the Americas and Europe, we're moving forward on a robust Asian trade strategy.
We're pursuing free trade agreements with South Korea and Singapore-two vital links to the Asian marketplace-which we hope to conclude in the near future.
We're negotiating investment protection agreements with China and India. Exploratory talks with Vietnam and Indonesia are also underway.